Nike Women's Marathon 2010 Race Report

Short version: Hills and rain, 3:42:59 official time
Long version...



I was really excited to do this race. With it being so popular, it is hard to gain an entry into, and when Kathryn, Carin, and I entered the random lottery, we were on pins and needles for a month waiting to get in, which we found out in the spring that we had made it in. Yippee!! We had lots of time to train, and I even had time for the marathon in July in Utah to fit in there.

I was nervous for the hills on the course, I knew they weren't the worst thing that San Francisco could hand you (there were no Lombard streets, after all), but I knew it was nothing we could train for here in Florida. We did our best on the bridge overpasses, but that was that. I went in with a reasonable goal of running between a 3:40 and 3:45. Of course I would have LOVED a 3:39:59, so I decided to run with the 3:40 pace group and stay with them as long as I could.

Race weekend finally came, Carin, Kathryn, and I (along with Kathryn's husband- the designated spectator) excitedly boarded our planes to San Francisco. Carin and I were staying two blocks from Union square, where the race expo was being held. We couldn't help but head over there right away. The expo was cool, trendy, and fun, although it was missing a lot of "practical" things you might want as a runner at an expo. This seemed to be the theme for the whole rest of the weekend, Nike put on an awesome event, but many times I was wishing it wasn't so trendy and was more practical. Conveniently the Nike Town store was right next to the expo and there was an entire floor devoted to the marathon merchandise, which was flying off the shelves.



The day before race day Carin and I went for a short run, then stopped by the expo again to meet the pacers. My pacer was Jen, and I asked her about the strategy she would take for the hills. She said she would stay on pace for both up and down, but encouraged us to do the hills at the effort you wanted and then catch up on the downhills. It was good advice, and I used that strategy on race day. We did some light sightseeing, (shopping) and met up with Kathryn and her husband for our pre-race pasta dinner. We got to bed nice and early.

The great thing about traveling west for an early morning race is that it doesn't really feel like early morning! I was up before my alarm and felt well rested. We went through our usual morning routines, then met Kathryn down at the start line. Here is where we parted ways, I headed up to my corral with pacer Jen, and Carin and Kathryn lined up with their pacer. I only had to wait in the corral about 30 minutes before it was time for the race! Pacer Jen had a pretty big group and we were all clumped together but it was really difficult staying with her the first mile and getting on pace. Nike allows members of a special Nike+ group line up near the start and unfortunately many of those were not intending on keeping a faster pace so it was hard to maneuver around them. They did not seem to like a large pace group weaving past them. It was still crowded for the next few miles, and I found it very stressful to stay with the pace group but I stayed with her anyway.

Finally the scary part came: the big hill at mile six. I watched as pacer Jen slowly slipped away from me, but by the time I got to the top I saw that she wasn't too far ahead which I was easily able to regain on the hill down. The next few miles went just like that. I would lose the pace group going up, and catch them going down. Finally we made it through the steep stuff, and I thought I would just be able to hang tight with the pace group.

We entered Golden Gate Park, and again there were some hills, although these were more gradual than the previous ones, so my fall back and catch up strategy wasn't working as well, also it was still very crowded on the course since the half marathon split hadn't occurred yet. I decided to let the pace group go, and immediately I felt more relaxed. And that was pretty much my strategy for the whole rest of the race, to just stay calm and relaxed. When we turned out of the park towards the last ten miles: calm and relaxed. When the rain started up: calm and relaxed. When I hit mile 20 and realized I could easily still make under 3:45: calm and relaxed. So it was with this mantra that I just kept ticking off mile after mile. In the last few miles I was tempted to pick up the pace and really put the hammer down for a strong finish, but I resisted because I was in such a groove and had FINALLY for the FIRST TIME EVER IN A MARATHON... had not gotten my dreaded side stitch. I was afraid if I tried to pick it up too much I would get the side stitch and slow down anyway so instead I just kept at my pace.

I crossed the finish line, looked at my watch and saw 3:43 (my chip time ended up with 3:42:59). I was so happy with that time, and so happy with how I had run and not fallen apart at any time during the race. I made my way through the elaborate finish line (Tiffany necklace, finisher shirt, and loads of post-race food) and found Kathryn's husband. We were waiting for Carin and Kathryn to come in for their finish, unfortunately though, I started getting VERY cold (I am from Florida after all) and with the pouring down rain there was no way I was going to warm up. I made a trip to the medic tent to get a warm blanket and a dry area to sit down. The staff in the medic tent was wonderful, and I wasn't the only one who was being treated for the cold conditions.


I was finally able to find Carin and then Kathryn, they also had great races which was the icing on the cake for me. We all left there a little cold and wet, but excited and happy and ready to celebrate our milestone.